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WHITBY HOUSE (WHITBYFIELD)
28 WHITBY STREET,, BRUNSWICK WEST VIC 3055 - Property No 13704
Whitby Street

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Statement of Significance

Whitby House is of state historical and architectural significance. It is one of the earliest surviving buildings in Brunswick, and the only surviving building of this period associated the establishment of 'gentlemen's estate's on Brunswick's early farming allotments. These were established by businesspeople and merchants, who often built fine architect-designed houses set in extensive grounds.
Whitby House is a modest example of the uncommon Gothic style, relatively few of which were built during a period in which the classical architectural vocabulary held sway. It is an example of the work of John Gill, an important Melbourne architect in the 1850s-60s.
Whitby House is significant within Brunswick for its association with noted local figures Edward Whitby and Graham Ferry. It is in a prominent location in a predominantly single storey street and is a local landmark.
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    • Physical Description 1

      WHITBY HOUSE (WHITBYFIELD) - Physical Description 1

      Whitby House is a predominantly single storey brick house with some Gothick elements. It has steeply pitched gabled roofs with small dormers and paired octagonal chimneys. The gutter boards and bargeboards have curved timber fretwork. Terracotta ridging (in two different patterns) appears to have been added at a much later date. Windows are a combination of timber-framed casements and double-hung sashes, and the east elevation has a small oriel window. Some windows have awning highlights and simple rendered mouldings. Beneath the main gable on the south elevation is an unusual moulded panel bearing the name, Whitby, and the date 1848.

      The house is in generally poor condition. Its conversion into flats has included the addition of several skillion-roofed rooms and carports between the original wings. Some of the face red brickwork has been exposed at ground floor level, and much of the rendered surface is deteriorating.

      Key Architectural Elements:
      Unusual Gothic Revival style
      distinctive detailswindows, chimneys, bargeboards

      Conservation Guidelines:
      Repair deteriorated joinery
      reinstate sympathetic front fence and gates
      reconstruct missing decorative details
      preferably remove unsympathetic 20th century additions

      Comparative Examples:
      Glenfern, East St Kilda (1850s)
      Coriyule Homestead, Drysdale (Charles Laing, 1849)
      Old Geelong Grammar School, Corio (Backhouse and Reynolds, 1857)
      Longeranong Homestead (1850)
      The Hawthorns, 5 Creswick Street, Hawthorn (1847)

      Heritage Study and Grading

      Heritage Study and Grading

      Moreland - Keeping Brunswick's heritage: A Report on the Review of the Brunswick Conservation Study

      Author: Context Pty Ltd
      Year: 1990
      Grading: State

      Moreland - City of Moreland Heritage Review

      Author: Allen Lovell and Associates
      Year: 1999
      Grading:

Public contributions

Note: Developments may span multiple time periods
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